Latch assemblies, or latches, are commonly used to engage movable partitions such as doors or gates with other structural members, e.g., posts, walls, or panels, or other doors or gates. One use of a latch, for example, is in connection with a slidable partition such as a sliding gate.
A predominant use of a slidable partition is in selectively providing access to an enclosed or secured area To this extent, oftentimes a lock is used in connection with a latch on a slidable partition to prevent the slidable partition from being opened by an unauthorized party. However, many latch and lock designs are susceptible to tampering, which may enable an unauthorized party to defeat a latch and/or lock to gain entry through the slidable partition.
For example, a number of sliding gate designs engage with a structural member (e.g., a fixed post or other partition) using a locking mechanism that operates a latch member to engage with a cooperative keeper on the structural member. The latch member typically projects outwardly from an end surface of the sliding gate in the direction of movement of the sliding gate. The locking mechanism is capable of moving the latch member between an unlocked position, where the latch member does not engage with the keeper, and a locked position, where the latch member engages with the keeper to prevent the sliding gate from disengaging from the structural member. Moreover, oftentimes the latch member is spring-loaded such that, when the locking mechanism is locked, but the sliding gate has not yet been moved to its closed position, the latch member deflects from its locked position to its unlocked position as the sliding gate is closed, and then springs back to the locked position once the sliding gate is moved to the fully closed position. Opening of the sliding gate requires actuation of the locking mechanism to move the latch member from the locked to the unlocked position.
While a spring-loaded latch member simplifies the operation of a sliding gate, such a latch member also often facilitates tampering by unauthorized parties. Specifically, oftentimes it is possible to access the latch member even when the sliding gate is closed, possibly permitting the latch member to be manually deflected to its unlocked position independent of the locking mechanism. For this reason, a significant amount of effort has been expended in the area of protecting a spring-loaded latch member from unauthorized tampering.
Conventional designs typically incorporate various guards to prevent external access to a spring-loaded latch, typically including cooperative members having opposing recesses and projections that serve to restrict external access to one or more sides of a latch. A number of designs do not, however, restrict access to all sides of a latch, and thus present a relatively greater security risk. Other designs that do restrict access to all sides of a latch are typically constructed of somewhat complicated interlocking members, which are more difficult and costly to manufacture. Further, in some designs the interlocking members may still provide gaps that an enterprising party may be able to exploit to gain unauthorized access through the gate. Moreover, many conventional designs are difficult to install or retrofit on existing structures.
Therefore, a significant need continues to exist for an improved mechanism for restricting access to a latch for a slidable partition such as a sliding gate, particularly for a mechanism that is less expensive and complicated, and more secure, than conventional designs.